Remillard dazzles at state championship

Archibald wins high jump title

Winnisquam's Jaila Remillard clears a barrier en route to her victory in the 100 hurdles at the NHIAA Division III state championship on Saturday in Meredith. Remillard won two events and took second in another to lead the Bears. Jeff Lajoie. (click for larger version)

June 02, 2014

MEREDITH – The 'Jaila Remillard Show' was on full display Saturday afternoon.

The Winnisquam Regional High School sophomore won two events and finished second in another, leading the Bears at the NHIAA Division III state championship held at Inter-Lakes High School.

Remillard's dominance was most evident in the 110 hurdles, as her time of 16.45 seconds had her well ahead of the pack, nearly a full hurdle ahead of the rest of her competition. She also captured the top spot in the long jump with a leap of 16 feet, six inches to claim a pair of state titles. She was second overall in the 400 meters, crossing the line in 61.46 seconds to account for 28 points towards the team total by herself.

Teammate Carissa Archibald had herself an outstanding meet as well, as the senior broke through and won the state championship in the high jump after nearly grabbing the crown each of the last two years. Archibald cleared five feet even, edging out Inter-Lakes junior Charlotte Morrow, the defending state champ in the process.

"It's so nice," said Archibald of the state title. "This year I've been hitting five feet better and more consistently than in years past. I was definitely a little nervous before the meet but I calmed down in time to jump."

The friendly rivalry that developed between Archibald and Morrow also made for an exciting finish, as the two are seemingly always the final pair remaining at every meet during the season.

"I love going against Char," said Archibald. "She pushes me to go higher and competing against her just makes me want to do better."

The Belmont High School 4x400 relay team that broke a school record at the Wilderness League Championship one week earlier grabbed a second place finish in the event at the state meet. The quartet of Kyle Gelinas, Tyler Rolfe, Joe Boles and Matt Leclair posted a time of 3:34.54, putting them in the number two spot behind winner Prospect Mountain.

The Red Raiders also received points from junior Bruce Zimmer, who took home fourth place in the shot put with a throw of 44 feet, eight inches. Gelinas was sixth overall in the 1,600 meters, crossing in 4:44 to snag a point as well.

Boles took sixth place in the 800 meters, arguably the most anticipated event of the day due to the fact that the field had quite a few sub-two minute qualifiers. The pace wound up being lightning quick, as winner Sean Munnelly of Campbell broke the meet record with a time of 1:55.20. Boles was under the two minute mark himself, crossing in 1:59.29.

Winnisquam received points from William Gove in the pole vault, as he captured fifth place with a top clearance of 11 feet even. Tea Michaloski also made her way into the points, as she tied for sixth place in the long jump with a leap of 15-4. Michaloski was also ninth in the triple jump.

Other Bears to crack the top 10 in their respective events were Mike Roy (seventh, 800) and Hayley deSousa (eighth, triple jump). Christian Stock was 16th in the 200 meters for Winnisquam.

Belmont had top 10 finishes from a pair of talented freshmen on the girls' side, as Jasmine Syed was seventh in the 400 meters (64.88) to finish just outside the scoring, while classmate Talia Sperduto nabbed eighth place in the 3,200 meters. Leclair took home 13th position in the 400 meters for the Raiders.

The Bears finished in sixth place on the girls' side to lead the way, as they compiled 38.50 points. The Belmont boys' team tied for 13th with 14 points on the afternoon.